My Story

From my first major solo performance in the United States aged 10, to  recent collaborations with International singer/songwriters and musicians, I have developed a curiosity for and breadth of practice in learning, teaching and performing music from a variety of traditions and perspectives.

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I studied classical violin under the direction of Hiroko Primrose and Dr. Michael Heaney via the Suzuki/Kodaly methods. During my school years, I worked with a variety of International artists including Rachel Valler (piano), Hans Gyors (cello), The Peking String Quartet and Jazz violinist Don Harper. I also attended master classes both in Australia and overseas, under the instruction of renowned teachers such as Harry Curby, Jan Sedivka and Dr. Shinichi Suzuki.  Following my first major performances at the Brigham Young University in Provo-Utah (USA), I performed with members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra whilst attending the Eighth World Suzuki Conference in Berlin.

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During my early years of University study, I began to widen my performance, composition and musical appreciation boundaries by touring and recording with a variety of groups in the musical genres of Rock, Country, Folk, Klezmer, Gypsy and Indonesian musics. During this time, I completed a Bachelor of Music degree, Diploma in Education and Bachelor of Education in Special Education at the University of New England. After several years of session work, recording and touring in Australia, New Zealand, and South-East Asia, my focus turned to developing my fiddle, mandolin, tenor guitar and viola playing skills in a new direction, primarily encompassing the music traditions of Ireland and Scotland.

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After a two month tour of Scotland and recording/release of the ‘Kez and Friends’ album titled Follow Me (2009), I participated in sessions with master Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser at Boxwood New Zealand in 2011. This honed my focus on the Scottish music side of  doctoral research and creative practice projects moving forward. Project outcomes included a portfolio of arrangements and compositions, two live concert recordings (celtic and pop Sunda fusion based) and an album of original and arranged instrumental music. This work was inspired by years of creative work in the Celtic, Sundanese and wider World Music domains. Completed in 2013, in conjunction with her an exegesis on ‘present-day transcultural violin performance’, this culminated in being awarded a OhD by creative practice at the University of New England.

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My greatest body of performance work currently lies in the genres of traditional and contemporary Celtic and World Music fusion. Check out some of my recent performances and 2021 ‘Trì’ album info here: https://kezwatson.wordpress.com/. You can also experience more of my music craft via ongoing session work, writing, recordings and concerts in a variety of Classical, Country, Folk, Gamelan and ‘Fusion’ collaborations across Australia and New Zealand. Or, in connection with my house concert venue in Armidale (NSW), Australia.